Find the equivalent purchasing power of money across different years using historical CPI data.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages, 1913–2024.
Enter a dollar amount, the year it is from, and the year you want to compare it with. The calculator scales the amount by the change in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI-U annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) to show its equivalent purchasing power.
You can go forward (what $1,000 from 2000 is worth today) or backward (what today’s price would have been in 1980) by putting the later year first. Data covers 1913–2024, the latest full calendar year included.
Adjusted amount = Amount × (CPI_end ÷ CPI_start)Average annual inflation = (CPI_later ÷ CPI_earlier)^(1 / years) − 1Divide the Consumer Price Index for the later year by the CPI for the earlier year and multiply by the amount. For example, CPI averaged 172.2 in 2000 and 313.689 in 2024, so $1,000 in 2000 had the buying power of about $1,822 in 2024.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) measures the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services, including food, housing, transport and medical care. It is published monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and is the most widely used measure of inflation.
From 1913 to 2024, US consumer prices rose by an average of about 3.2% per year, though with large swings — from deflation in the early 1930s to double-digit inflation around 1980. The Federal Reserve targets 2% inflation over the long run.
This calculator uses annual average CPI. Calculators that use a specific month’s CPI (for example January to January) will give slightly different answers.
Inflation silently erodes purchasing power. At 3% inflation, $100,000 in savings loses roughly half its real value in 24 years. This is why holding large amounts of cash long-term is risky — your money buys less each year. Investing in assets that outpace inflation (stocks, real estate, TIPS) is essential for preserving wealth.
Did you know?
A dollar in 1913 (when the Federal Reserve was created) has the same purchasing power as approximately $31 today. This means prices have increased roughly 31x over 110 years.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most common measure of inflation in the US, was first published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1919. The US experienced its worst peacetime inflation during the 1970s oil crisis, with CPI peaking at 14.8% in March 1980. The Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker raised interest rates to nearly 20% to tame it.
The Federal Reserve targets a 2% annual inflation rate as optimal for economic growth and employment stability.
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe reached 79.6 billion percent per month in November 2008 — prices doubled every 24.7 hours.
Real wages (adjusted for inflation) for middle-class American workers have barely grown since the 1970s despite significant productivity gains.
Deflation (falling prices) is generally considered more dangerous than moderate inflation because it discourages spending and investment.